> I launched my boat the day before yesterday, I noticed that the paddle
> tends to vibrate a little on each stroke, it's not quite a flutter, but
> there is definatley a vibration there. What would cause this? . Is this
> normal with greenland sticks?

Paul,

I haven't felt vibration with my Greenland paddles and have not heard it mentioned elsewhere. I like to shape my Greenland paddles just thin enough so that I can feel a bit of flex as the paddle releases from the water. This lively feel is part of the attraction of a fine wood paddle. Is this what you are experiencing?

If you are feeling a bit of true flutter you can usually eliminate it by tilting the top edge of your paddle slightly forward during your stroke. If your paddle is shaped correctly to allow your thumb and forefinger to wrap around the loom with your remaining fingers draped over the roots of the blades, you will notice that when your wrists are in a neutral (uncocked) position the paddle will naturally tilt forward. Do not fight this tendency. According to Maligiaq Padilla this is a very popular forward stroke technique in S.W. Greenland. In my experience it takes some time to get the hang of it but but this technique dramatically increased the performance of my forward stroke. It also makes the catch cleaner with much less noise and splash.

There are two articles that touch on this at http://www.magicnet.net/~gstamer/QK.html .

Best Regards,

Greg Stamer